Morgan Michaels

Teddy- A Comma-Rich Poem

My neighbor's dog is deaf and has diabetes: Too bad, there's nothing anyone can do.His aging pet has to pee every three minutes, the poor sausage, And being a pooch who plays by the rulesThat means lots of whining, jumping, Up, down, traveling via elevator, all day long, Day in, out, rain or shine, cold or warm.And life spent jingling at the end of a leash.

Not often, but sometimes, the door opening, I get on, the dog squeezes in behindSneezing, and towing his owner, who says 'hullo, ''Hi, ' I say back, and looking down, holler'And hello to you, Master Teddy, speak nowOr forever hold your peace'- meaning, of course, piss.Far from being shy, the little fellow whinesAnd stares at me gratefully from clouded eyes

As if I were the answer to all his prayersOr a bottle of insulin, left on the step.He pants, sneezes again, stamps, dances in place, Whines, wags his tail feebly, sits down again- He is old, there is nothing anyone can do.He has always relied on peoples- trusted them, Who, trustees, would never abuse his trust.Dimly he stares. His snout hairs bristle.